A recent Accenture global research project undertaken along with the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) revealed that CEOs increasingly see business opportunities in helping address fundamental societal problems. However, the CEOs admit that there are difficulties in identifying an initial set of societal issues that link to competitive advantage and scaling associated strategies across the company.

The findings were published in a report, "Business at its best—Driving sustainable value creation." The report includes case studies from around the world and commentary by leaders across companies, including Alcoa, Nestlé S.A., Pepsico, Novartis AG, S.C. Johnson & Son, The Campbell Company and HSBC Bank plc. "Business at its best" provides actionable frameworks to help companies close the gap between vision and execution— practical approaches for organisations to adopt, based on five imperatives to help plan, manage and scale sustainable value creation.